Faking The Fall
by broken-hearted wings
Summary: When it comes to being stubborn and angry, Raph fits the bill. Especially where Leonardo's concerned. But Mikey's got a plan and he's determined to make sure that both of his brothers come back, even if it means putting himself in harm's way.
1. Happy Songs, Sad Words

~!~ This is broken-hearted wings speaking. This is my first turtlefic, so you'll have to bare with me while I sort things out and get my muse levels up and going. This wasn't too terrible for my first chapter ever posted, a little short. I'm aware that the Leo and/or Raph leaving idea has been done plenty, but I'm hoping to add a little twist and some Mikey-humor in there too. I hope it isn't too boring, as I tend to open my stories with fighting and action, etc., so if this one moves a little slow, then make sure you wait for the next chapter! I'm promising fists, blood, and action! And Raphael! So read on and press the lovely review button down at the bottom! I have cookies! ~!~

Chapter One

"Wahah!"

"Mikey.."

"Donnie! I don't wanna die! I dont wanna- Ow!"

"There. All done. You can open your eyes now."

"You sure?"

"Yep. No more big, bad needles to stick you with. I am unarmed."

"Heh, right." _Smack._

"Ow!" Mikey rubbed his head and glared in the direction of his older brother before bouncing off the chair and snatching up Clunk. "I won't let the evil Donatello have you, no I won't!" The purple-banded turtle gave him a look and grabbed a bandage, pushing his brother back into the chair with one hand and wrapping his arm with the other.

"Gah, sit still! If only Raph were here, then you'd.." He trailed off and the younger turtle met his gaze, unhappiness shining in his eyes. Donatello wished he hadn't opened his big mouth. "Sorry, Mikey." The orange-banded turtle bit his lip and Don sighed.

"If Raph were here, a lot of things would and wouldn't happen." Mikey muttered, getting up and running lightly back to his TVs and video games. His brother watched him go and sighed again, heavily. _Raph, shelferbrains. And Leo too. Without the two of them.._ He turned to look at Master Splinter, who was kneeling in front of his master's orb. He had barely moved from that spot for days, always watching and waiting for the inevitable to happen, for one of his missing sons to turn up, dead or crippled.

_We never did well solo._ Donatello sat down, resting his chin on his hand as he looked from Splinter's hunched form to the back of Mikey's head, staring stubbornly at the bright screens. Don didn't have to see his face to know what expression was there. Out of all them, he'd always been the most passionate, the most empathetic. He felt this separation worst of all.

At first, Don had thought that he hated Raphael, for doing this to them. He was the force of their team, the powerful vibrations that moved the tsunami forward from the ocean. He was brute force to Don's calculating mind, raw power and endurance to Mikey's streamlined speed. But it was his forcefulness that had created the crack that had split their family, Leo against Raph, an ageless battle.

But the purple-banded turtle knew he could never hate his brothers. Either of them. But without Raph to move the wave, or Leo to guide it, they were a simple current, pushing aimlessly against a sandy shore. Even the Purple Dragons had been walking all over them. And Michelangelo wasn't helping. His recklessness never ceased; he only made things worse, especially with only one pair of eyes looking out for him.

If Raphael or Leonardo knew they were taking on criminals by themselves, the two of them would be furious. But Leo was out searching again for the Ancient One. He'd told them that he was looking for the answer to his anger, like his second sensei would hand him a key and everything would be okay. They all knew that wasn't going to happen. He was only leaving to try to give Raph some space and to improve himself; he wanted to be a better leader.

Donatello made a face. The Ancient One had done well the first time when it came to confronting and disarming Leonardo's anger, but this was different. This was between _them_. Something only they, as a family, could solve.

He got up from his chair and walked over to Master Splinter, kneeling quietly. He rarely sought out comfort from his father, which was usually something his older brothers did, because their problems had always been pressing and physical. Don found solace in his family and in his work. Now he only had one, and it was the lesser of the two.

Splinter looked up at his son after a moment more of meditation and murmured,

"What is it, Donatello?"

"It's Mikey." His son informed him. "He's depressed and unhappy. He wants his brothers back." Splinter looked at him for a moment.

"So do you." He said, as wise and perceptive as ever.

"Well, yeah.. But Mikey's different. He needs someone to look out for him, especially when he goes topside. I can only watch him so much; he needs Leo and Raph." There was a pleading tone in his voice. He didn't want to lead. He would never shirk the responsibility, but it wasn't a job he was ready for. And he was so _alone_.

"I know." Frustration spilled into his voice and Donatello had to take a moment to calm down. He never got angry, especially not with his master. But he'd do anything to get his brothers back, to make sure Mikey was safe.

"So try and get Leo and Raph to come back! We need them!" His sensei looked at him quietly, his brow furrowed.

"This is not just your journey, Donatello." He said gently. "They are following their own paths and learning their own lessons. If that is what it takes to make them realize that they need us, their family, then we must be patient and allow the future to run its own course." Don bit his lip, not wanting to blurt out something insensitive.

"But we've always shared our future. We're brothers, we're a team. Our _destinies_ have always been linked, you said so yourself. Running solo has never worked for any of us; we're a team for a reason and without one of us, or two of us, we can't function right." Splinter lifted an eyebrow as he continued to gaze at his orb.

"Indeed, your destinies have been linked, and will remain that way. But there is no reason for you to learn the lessons that they might require. Raphael must learn the value of patience while Leonardo must learn to believe in himself and trust his instincts." Don knew what he meant.

"And Mikey has to learn not to be so impetuous; he trusts his instincts a little too much." The turtle sighed. "I understand where you're going with this, Master Splinter, but this lesson learning isn't going to happen fast enough. And you know going vigilante isn't the honorable way." He looked at his sensei meaningfully.

"Raphael knows this, but he is too stubborn and too hurt by Leonardo's actions to put away his anger and guilt. At least he is holding on to compassion and is trying to help people and not take his anger out on them." Shocked, Don shook his head. _Raph would never, ever do that. He may act and talk tough, but everyone knows he's a big marshmallow on the inside._

"But Leo's problem isn't with himself, it's with Raph and us. All they did was argue.. And everything fell apart.." Don knew his guilt was misplaced. He hadn't been involved in any of it, and had he known that Raph would leave after Leo did, then he would have stopped it. But he had thought that Leo was doing the right thing, leaving to give both of them some time to cool off and be rational. Until Raphael had taken his anger out on the others and gone rogue. Splinter sighed.

"Raphael is his own person. I cannot force him to-"

"But Master Splinter!" Mikey emerged from behind the couch, looking desperate. "He's gonna get himself hurt out there!"

"It's not him getting hurt that I'm worried about." Donatello muttered under his breath. Mikey ignored him for once.

"You've always said that we are a team. Donnie and I can't handle all these Foot and gangsters by ourselves. We need Raph and Leo back! Ask Leo to come back; he will once he finds out. Then we can solve this whole thing with Raph." Splinter touched the orb with a single fingertip.

"He's searching for answers-"

"So is Raph!" Mikey interrupted, again. Splinter looked up, but his son carried right on. "Listen, Master Splinter. We never worked well when we go solo. Leo got his butt handed to him by the Foot and it took him days to recover! Donnie turned into a rabid monster and-"

"Raph ended up blind once." Don offered. "He told me about it."

"Exactly! Bad things happen when we do things by ourselves. We have to get Leo back and find some way to talk Raph out of his.. um, issues, and put our family back together again!" Their master looked back and forth between the two of them. Donatello, who looked agitated and overwhelmed, and Michelangelo, desperate.

"All right." He said, and Mikey whooped, punching his fists into the air. Don face palmed, groaning. Of course Mikey's whining would get him farther than Don's logical debate. It only figured. Master Splinter held up a finger and his youngest son quieted.

"But there will be complications. It will take energy and concentration for me to contact Leonardo, or the Ancient One, and call him back here. Secondly, Raphael will not be eager to return if he knows that his brother is already here. And," A sad look drew upon the rat's furry features, "He doesn't seem to think much of listening to me. He wants to, but his fear of favoritism has always manipulated his feelings."

"Yes, well." Mikey muttered. "It isn't hard to envy our Fearless Leader."

"You sound like Raph." Don informed his brother with a snort. "And since when do you worry about that? Physical stuff has always come easier to you. Anyways," He turned back to his master, questioningly. "How do you think we should go about doing this? As you said, Raph won't just waltz in if he knows Leo's here."

Mikey seemed to have an answer.

"We could lie." He pointed out. Don wished he could tell someone to smack his little brother, though he didn't dare tell Master Splinter what to do. Giving Mikey a look, the purple-banded turtle pointed out that,

"We're trying to get him to come back and be a part of the team again, right? Don't you think lying is not the best way to instill a sense of trust and cooperation?" Mikey waved his hand dismissively.

"Cooperation, swoperation." He said. Don rolled his eyes.

"Seriously. How are we going to do this?" Mikey grinned.

"I'll tell you how!"

"Mikey..." Don groaned. The orange-banded turtle laughed in his exceedingly annoying and exuberant way, a sound that Donatello realized he hadn't heard in quite a long time. It arose his suspicious feeling that arose whenever Mikey looked like he was concocting some evil scheme to try and remind all of his brothers who had won the Battle Nexus Championship.

"This isn't just some scheme; we really need this to work!"

"I know, Donnie! Just hear me out." Donatello sighed. He was going to regret this, he just knew it. Mikey beamed when his brother stayed silent. He then proclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air that,

"In order to reunite my family and bring my brothers back, I will be run over by a truck!"


	2. Good Friends, Bad Thoughts

~!~ Okay, I lied. I was going to have some fighting and I planned on bringing in Raphael in this chapter. Unfortunately, I decided that "the plan" needed some explaining so I went back and worked on it and ended up moving the fight and the other brothers' entrances to the next chapter! So you will see action somewhere in this fic, I promise on the Marauder's Map, but this chapter does a lot of explaining that will be needed to understand what the heck is going on. I'm very glad that you guys reviewed so quickly! I was quite encouraged despite the fact that the first chapter wasn't exactly thrilling. Your reviews were very much appreciated, so when you finish this one, please go down and review again! =D Cookies to constructive reviews and all flames will be used to burn my cell phone so I can get a new one. ~!~

Chapter Two

"A... truck? What?" Donatello pinched his brow and sighed. _Now I know why I'm the scientist and he's the goofball._ He thought sarcastically. After that particular comment, there was no doubt. Seeing the look on his brother's face, Mikey said indignantly,

"What? It's a good idea!"

"Michelangelo, as much as I encourage the use of your mind and inner self, I do not think that getting run over by a vehicle is a, ah, _good_ idea." Master Splinter was thankfully not as speechless as Donatello, and managed to convey his thoughts more diplomatically than his other son, who was ready to take a line from Raph and just slap Mikey upside the head.

"Mikey!" He exclaimed, exasperated. "Be serious! We can't just joke about this; this's our plan to get our brothers back!" Michelangelo dropped all pretenses and stared back at his brother, saying plainly,

"I wasn't kidding.." Don blinked. "If Raph sees me get hit by a truck or something, he'll have to come rescue me, right?" His idea began to dawn on his genius brother. "Raph'll be all concerned and stuff, but he doesn't know how to, you know, be medical, so he'll bring me to you! You're the only doctor we know who can help us giant mutant turtles!" Donatello laughed in surprise.

"Mikey, I take it back! You're a genius!" He exclaimed, high-fiving the other turtle. "Of course, you can't actually get hit by a truck and there are other people that Raph could take you to, but we can work out those details.." While Michelangelo beamed proudly and Splinter patted his shoulder, smiling a little, Don started working out all the kinks.

"Instead of a truck.. Maybe you could get in a fight with some gangsters or the Foot on one of his little vigilante spots. Casey says he goes through the same pattern every day, to the places where the most crimes are committed, so we'll have to set that up. And we'll have Casey and April on surveillance to make sure that you don't get your shell carved up in the fight." Mikey looked vaguely insulted while Don carried on, tapping his chin and pacing as his mind worked some ninety miles an hour. Master Splinter pointed out,

"If you're so set on having them make up, then how do you plan on getting Leonardo here at the same time?" Don pointed at him as he leaned against his computer table.

"That's the whole point; we have to find a way to get him here at the same time that Raph gets here with Mikey. And Raph could still take Mikey to Leatherhead or April, so we have to make sure that the two of them aren't available."

"You just said April and Casey will be watching me, so she has to have an excuse." Mikey added, still gloating over his brilliance. Don nodded, tapping his chin, and ignoring his little brother, who was doing the running man to celebrate.

"We'll have Casey call Raph and tell him that the two of them are going out of town for the weekend." Splinter frowned.

"Will Mr. Jones go along with all of this?" The rat wanted to know, making both the turtles turn to look at him. "He's very close to Raphael and may not agree to manipulate him."

"April might not either.. She may think we just need to talk it out.." Mikey murmured worriedly. Donatello reached for his shell cell as he answered,

"April won't have a problem with it because she understands that it's dangerous for one of us to go out alone. Plus, she misses both of them. The last time she came to the lair to talk with us, she told me that she's worried for Raph. She's afraid he'll get too reckless and get hurt without Leo watching him. And I told her that he isn't answering any of our calls. She'll be happy to help." He started dialing. "I'll work on Casey." The others nodded and watched as he put the cell to his ear.

Casey answered on the second ring.

"Casey Jones here. 'Sup?" Don suppressed a grin. That was Casey for you.

"Hey, it's Donatello. Listen, we need your help, but you can't tell Raph about this." There was a pause and then,

"Um, okay.." He sounded uncertain. Casey had always been a loyal friend, to Raph and all of the turtles, which was probably the reason he had agreed to keeping quiet. Donatello went on to explain that they were worried about Raphael, that they thought he was going to get himself hurt and how he wasn't answering their calls. He reminded Casey that the four of them had always relied on each other, because they were a team, and they were brothers. The four of them were never right if they weren't good with each other.

"Well.." Casey paused again. Then, "You're right about that last thing. Raph hadn't been himself since he left ya'll.. He's been pretty sour and out of it and I have to pull him out of my fridge." Don's stomach twisted with worry.

"He hasn't been eating?" Casey's reply was concerned. He wasn't extraordinarily observant, but the guy wasn't stupid.

"Well, that and he basically comes over to my house to get drunk. I knew something was going on and I knew he'd left you guys for awhile, but I was pretty sure he'd go back eventually.." Don clenched his hands. He _knew_ it had been a good idea to try and get Raph back.

"He's been avoiding us, Casey. We need your help to bring him and Leo back." A long pause.

"Leo's gone too?" Don's jaw dropped and his brother and father frowned at the astonished look on his face.

"He didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?" Don sighed.

"He and Leo had it out a little while back. It was over the same sort of thing. Raph was being too reckless and harsh, and Leo called him on it. The two argued and got really angry over the whole thing. They wouldn't talk to each other, not even for three days. Finally, Leo decided that he would leave for a little while and go to the Ancient One, in order to find a way to better deal with his anger and give Raph some time to cool off." Donatello swallowed. "But Raph wouldn't calm down. He was really angry. Blamed Leo for leaving and not trying to work things out. That was when he left." Silence. Don listened to his heart beat for a few moments before Casey finally said,

"Wow.. I thought he was just having a bad time or somethin'.. Didn't know that Leo left too.. We need to do somethin'." Donatello had to smile.

"Yeah, and we need your help." After telling him to meet up with them, the purple-banded turtle thanked him and hung up, dialing April and informing her that they were going to take action. She told him it was about time and said she would be right there.

"That was slightly impromptu." Donnie said apologetically as he hung up and turned to face them. "But I figured if we could just do this face-to-face, it'd be a whole lot easier." They agreed with him and by the time April and Casey both got there, Donatello was close to having figured everything out.

Mikey had his head and arms over the back of the couch, in-between Casey and April, who seemed a little annoyed that he had placed himself there. Master Splinter seated himself and Don stood up, giving his quick synopsis.

"Okay, here's the plan: I'll have you, Casey, tell Raphael that you and April are going on a trip for a few days." He opened his mouth to ask something and Donatello shushed him immediately, saying, "I'll get to everything, I promise. Now, I'll also call Leatherhead and ask him if he could take a quick trip too, just in case." Casey opened his mouth again and Don silenced him quickly.

"As I was saying", he looked annoyed, "I've plotted out a prediction of Raph's path that he uses when being a vigilante. It calculates his course using the areas of the most criminal activity and the spots Casey told me about. The plan is to have Mikey get in a fight with the Purple Dragons on one of those spots while Raph is out, doing his thing. He may or may not interfere, but he won't leave Mikey by himself to deal with those guys, even though they'll be the easiest opponents for you to fight." He looked at Michelangelo when he said this.

"Despite that, Mikey, you have to get 'injured' in some way. Trip and fall on your face, I don't care, but don't actually hurt yourself too much. It shouldn't take much more than seeing you fall for Raph to join the fight. The biggest problem for you is _staying quiet_." He pointed a finger at the mischevious turtle. "You can't reassure him or speak or do anything. He has to feel worried enough that he feels like he needs to take you to get help, so you have to act unconscious for the duration of being with him topside." Mikey said,

"What if he tickles me? Or just leaves me?!" Don rolled his eyes.

"If he tickles you, bite your tongue. He won't leave you." Casey looked concerned.

"But what if he does? I mean, no 'ffense or anything, but he's been actin' so weird.. He may just leave Mikey to fight those gangsta's on his own.." Don crossed his arms firmly, disliking his position as elected leader more and more. He sincerely wished that Leo was here to be doing all of this for him. He didn't give his eldest brother enough credit for being a good leader.

"He won't leave Mikey." Donatello told Casey firmly, hoping his conviction was as stronger than the worries inside of him. "Raph's Protective Older Brother Syndrome is just as bad as Leo's. He'd never leave one of us to die."

"That's not what I meant.." Casey muttered while Don carried on with,

"I say that, but you, Casey and April, will be stationed out there just in case of emergency. I have no qualms that Raph won't intervene when Mikey goes down, but.. in case something does go wrong, you guys are Mike's back-up. Casey, if you do have to go up there, pretend that you're driving out or something. Go along with it and make sure that Raph decides to take him to Master Splinter." Casey nodded, albiet a little uncertainly, and April patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll do the talking, sweetie." She said with a small smile. Casey looked relieved.

"Anyways," Don moved on. "Raphael will take Mikey down to the lair, hopefully without any complications. Remember, Mikey," His eyes bored into his brother's. "You _cannot_, under any circumstances, speak to him. Or laugh. Or anything. He has to believe that you need medical help, so no waking up." Mikey blinked.

"Okay, okay! I get the picture." He said, startled. "Stop worrying so much! You sound like Leo!" Don sighed. Now he knew how the turtle felt whenever he was planning something. This was incredibly stressful. _What if something goes wrong? What if I'm wrong about Raph? What if Mikey loses it and laughs or tries to comfort his big brother?_ He wanted to hit something; he wasn't cut out for this!

"My son." He looked up to see Splinter's concerned gaze. "Are you all right?"

"We can take a break, Donnie." April's voice sounded and he turned to her, seeing that her eyes were just as worried. "Don't feel so pressured; we're here to help." He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I'm just worried that something will go wrong.." Mikey patted his shoulder, making him jump. He hadn't realized that his little brother was behind him. The orange-banded turtle's chocolate eyes were big and compassionate.

"Just believe in us, bro. Everything will turn out okay." Donatello sucked in a breath and smiled.

"Thanks, you guys. The rest is this: Raph will bring Mikey in. Master Splinter, if you would, you will have called Leo and asked him to come back. We presume that he doesn't know about Raph and even if he does, I'm relying on you to make sure he does come back." His look was commanding, it was pleading. His father and master looked back at him and nodded as he murmured,

"I do not think much of having to trick my sons, but to unite my family, I will do this thing." Don nodded and thanked him warmly.

"Okay, guys, let's take that break. Mikey, you can call for a pizza-"

"Guys!" They all looked sharply at April who said tightly as she held up her cell phone. "It's Leo. He says he's in the middle of an emergency."


	3. Tall Buildings, Low Spirits

~!~ I'm a terrible person, I know. Life and school happened, kinda in an explosion and I haven't written squat in several weeks. But I missed it too much and made time for this little fic, so here's the third chapter! I hope it's pleasing! The action's still on its way, but here we get to see Raph and why he's gone vigilante _again_. I also think one of the highlights of this chapter is the interaction between Don and Leo. The two aren't the main focus in this story, but I couldn't pass up the chance to show just how adorable they are when the roles are switched. Don's throwing orders around while their Fearless Leader is attempting to experiment with being on his own again. Well, I know that's basically just Don fulfilling a leadership role, but the dynamic is still there. He can't stand the pressure and the worrying about letting someone down, so he's even more desperate to have Leonardo back and have things status quo again. Another note is that I'm still trying to figure out how FF works. If anyone can tell me how to put spacing between the intro, title, and first sentence, please let me know! Anyways! I hope you guys enjoy and again, I apologize for the inconvenience of life and it's unwillingness to spare me. =) ~!~

Chapter Three

"What?" Startled, Don moved forward and took the phone April offered. "Um, Leo?"

"Donatello. Hey. How are you?" It was one of those times that their serious Fearless Leader took the time to attempt to be funny and use sarcasm, something that Don found rather annoying, especially when he knew his brother was trying to be facetious in order to lessen the tension of the moment. It didn't help that he could hear the _cliings _and_ chiings _of steel hitting steel in the background.

"I've been better, like when I wasn't in the dark about my brother being in trouble." He hinted.

"Right." Leo sounded amused. "You sound like me." Don winced.

"For some reason, I keep hearing that. What's up?" He said, deciding to get straight to the point. Another loud _ka-chiing_ and then Leo answered, not even sounding out of breath,

"Well-" The turtle's breath whooshed out, making Don blink, and then there was a light thud before Leo continued, breathing quietly like the way he did whenever he was running and trying to conserve his energy. He had a habit of trying to press small things like that into his brother's heads. "I got into a little something in California."

Don tried to suppress a grin.

"That tends to happen to people." He replied, aware of everyone's eyes on him. They obviously didn't know to be worried or not, unreassured by his repressing a smile. "So what happened, exactly?"

"Gang kidnapped a kid and I interfered. But I'm not calling because of that. April got in touch with me and said that there was trouble with you guys and you hadn't called, so I took the initiative." Don shot a surprised glance at April and covered up the mouth piece, asking,

"You called him?" She shrugged, albiet anxiously.

"I was worried, Don. And I had thought you all had gotten in contact with him already, so I was just checking up on him. I only said that you were having a few problems." He sighed and uncovered the mouth piece, saying,

"Yes, well. Trouble's one way to put it." Leo sighed and several guns went off, audibly through the phone, making everyone jump and Don yell frantically into the phone,

"Leo?!"

"I'm fine." There was a short pause and then the sound of flesh smacking flesh. Don waited nervously, his stomach in knots before Leo finally said, "Sorry. They're persistent, but stupid. Shooting their guns gave their hiding spots away. You were saying?"

"Right.. Raph left." He didn't know any other way to put it. There was shock, barely contained anger, and frustration in Leo's voice.

"He left?! Why?" Don played with the antenna, wishing he didn't have to be telling Leo all this. It sounded so dire coming from his lips and made the situation seem even more real.

"He- he was angry about you leaving again. He was frustrated at being contained and put off, Leo, so he went away to do his own thing. We haven't been able to do much with the two of you gone. Mikey got a couple of scrapes in one fight and we've been staying in the lair since." Leo sighed.

"Do you want me to come back?" Don's stomach twisted. He knew the honest answer to the question, but he also knew that his oldest brother was searching for the Ancient One for a reason, to try and sort things out with himself. But beyond even that, Donatello knew that Leo would better solve this problem by coming home and dealing with Raph face to face. Plus, he couldn't do this leading thing alone.

"Yeah. How quickly do you think you get here?" Pause. Don wished on every star he'd ever seen that Leo would be putting on some speed.

"Four days. Three if I can find a train going straight to New York. If you guys need me home, then I'm there." Don felt relief surge through him, so much that his knees wobbled a little. Leo was coming home and everything was going to be okay. His voice was as grateful as the rest of him and he hoped his brother could hear it.

"Thank you."

"No problem." There was the light panting now, of Leo keeping a steady pace and breathing in and out quietly. "Talk to you later then?"

"Yeah. Oh," He had to smile a little at Mikey, who was waving his hands and mouthing something frantically, "Mikey wants Angelina Jolie's autograph." Leo laughed and it was a comforting sound.

"Right." They said good-bye and hung up, Don feeling better by the minute.

"Let's take that break, shall we?"

0101010

It was raining cats and dogs. The rain splashing against his skin didn't do much to reassure him. Neither were the gathering storm clouds, that seemed to reflect the inside of his heart, and the thunder and lightning, which carried an uncanny resemblance to the sharp anger inside of him.

There was nothing the red-banded turtle wanted more than to return to the lair and see his brothers' happy faces as they greeted him, demanding to know where'd he been and wanting to know what he wanted for supper. But Raphael knew it wouldn't work like that. Sure, Mikey would be thrilled to see him again; his youngest brother had always acted like a kid, especially when it came to his siblings.

But there would be a disappointed gleam in Donatello's eye and the intelligent turtle would have that look that told Raphael he was looking straight into his brother's soul and didn't like what he saw. The turtle gritted his teeth. He had been just as unhappy as everyone else had been at Leo leaving, heck, he'd been more dismayed than the rest of them; that much had been obvious. They hadn't read between the lines like he had. Leonardo wasn't leaving just to act like martyr and who knew how long he'd take this time around.

Raph couldn't take it anymore. Either they were a family or they weren't. Leo just didn't seem to be very interested in the whole stick-together-because-we're-family thing anymore and loyalty meant more than anything to Raphael. There was something wrong with his older brother if he thought that Raph would put effort into something that he himself wasn't bothering with.

The muscular turtle was putting speed into his run. He was sweating too, though it was hard to tell with rain pouring on him. He'd seriously considered going to stay with Casey but when he'd gotten there, he'd seen April and knew that she would want him to talk to the guys. That had been the last thing he'd wanted; the turtle had made a turn-around and headed for another place he knew, a hideout under a bridge, which was where he was staying now. It was sheltered and no one went there anymore, because you could only reach it by going through the sewers, which he knew like the back of his three-fingered hand.

He leapt onto a towering brick chimney and gazed around himself, wondering if the city looked as down-sized and depressed as it did right now. There weren't many lights on, because it was close to midnight, smoke and haze drifted amongst the many buildings, and the rain put a damp, teary look to everything. Raphael sighed and sat down, propping his chin up on his fist, while his elbow rested on his bent knee. There were so many places he'd rather be right now. Like home, at the lair, where someone would probably be ordering pizza or Chinese right now. Mikey would be begging him to play another round of video games with him and Don would be working on yet another project, while Leo exercised and practiced nearby, keeping his usual watchful eye on everything.

The red-banded turtle gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching hard enough to make his green skin turn a strange shade of white. _Dammit, Leo!_ His brother had to go and be proud, had to be his proud, majestic and overbearing self that thought he knew everything when it came to his family. Well, the heck with that. Raph wasn't answering to anyone anymore, not when he was doing his own thing. He ignored the voice in his head that said he missed the lair and his brothers, that was the cause of his chest hurting so much, and got to his feet again, gripping the handles of his sai in order to keep from punching something. He normally didn't have much of a problem with punching something, but if he started now, he wouldn't be able to stop.

He kept right on moving, going through over the rooftops like he and his brothers had done so many times before. Above his breathing and the light steps of his feet, the turtle could hear Mikey's laughter echoing around him, could practically see his littlest brother flipping off the balcony of the building above him, and feel the typical rush of mixed apprehension, watching Mikey dive toward the ground just in time to grab onto a ledge or a clothing line. He would never open his mouth and say it, but Mikey would be the reason for every invisible gray hair on his very bald head.

Raph shook his head, but he could also hear Don admonishing Mikey, reminding him that he didn't have as many bandages as he did last night, because the turtle had gone through them all with his latest stunt. His other younger brother's voice was laughing too, because it was impossible to stay angry at Mikey long, the only person allowed to do that was Raph. Even Leo forgave the irresistible turtle after looking at his puppy-face and trembling mouth, or listening to him whine for an hour-and-a-half. Speaking of which, Leo's voice he could hear too, rapping out orders as they smashed Purple Dragon heads, joking about Mikey's addiction to his comic books, and agreeing that a night at Casey's sounded like a great idea, as long as they didn't break out the beer.

The red-banded turtle rubbed his eyes, covering his face with weary hands. When he wasn't around his family, he felt so- so _unenergized_. He always ended up depressed, angry, and drunk. He simply couldn't find Mikey's humor, Don's wise-cracking, Leo's guidance, or Splinter's wisdom anywhere else. The turtle groaned into his hands.

_Maybe this was the wrong decision for me. But they aren't going to want me back. And I'm not going to go back, pleading for their forgiveness, like some prodigal. I have pride and it's not so easily beaten._ He gazed at the hazy, wet world between his fingers and had to wonder. He didn't know if his pride would last under these circumstances.


	4. Sweet Laughs, Bitter Tastes

~!~ I know, I'm pathetic. But I went to New York City, and as you might've noticed, it was rather preoccupying. Anyways, I finished this chapter and it is up! I hope it's satisfactory to you and worth the long wait! Please review! Cookies to all who review! And, obviously, since I need to put up a disclaimer, I do not own TMNT. If I did, you would be seeing season six or seven of the old 1990's version, not that silly FastForward stuff, thank you very much. ~!~

Chapter Four

"So, how's it going up there, Mikey?" Don put a hand to the mic in his ear, focusing from his position next to April in their equipped van, sitting on the side of the quiet city road, and watching his youngest brother's progress across the tops of the building across from him.

"Just great." His tone said otherwise. "I'm soaking wet, I can barely feel my fingers or my toes, and I think I'm missing the latest episode in Doctor-"

"Focus. You're only a building away from the biggest non-federally owned bank in the city. It's an easy target for the Foot and would definitely up their plans if they hoped to increase business and make quick cash. This may be our spot." Mikey rolled his eyes, using his hand to jump over a large pipe.

"Dude, I think this is the worst idea you've ever come up with. You're making me run through the city at night, in the rain, to check possible places for the Foot and Purple Dragons in hope of finding Raph there, but we don't even know if these are the same places he checks. We don't know when he makes his rounds, except he does them at night, and I'm having serious doubts about this particular night. Maybe you haven't noticed, but it's _raining_!" Don rubbed his brow, while Mikey took a breath.

"Dude. Only crazy people run around rooftops at night looking for something they're not sure about in spots where they think _gangsters_ might be. And in the rain!" Don blew out a breath, exasperated.

"Mike, this was your idea in the first place, remember? And since when do you have a problem with fighting gangsters? You've always loved a good fight."

"... It's raining."

"... Right. You never liked thunderstorms, but this is just a little water. What's the deal? You were fine with this idea, _your_ idea, only an hour ago."

"But I'm wet, Donny!"

"Seriously. What's wrong?" Don's voice wasn't joking.

"I just- I don't know. I don't think this is the way to get Raph back. I'm all for getting him back to the lair no matter what, but still.. It'll be like lying to him, really lying to him! I don't think I've ever seriously lied to him before." Don started to say something, hopefully a reassurance, but Mikey's voice crackled over the mic as he leapt across the gap between buildings.

"Hey, I see something interesting. A couple of black-dressed goons. Maybe this's our spot." Don nodded, looking at April, who kept worried eyes on him. He looked away, murmuring,

"Mmkay, be careful. If you don't see any sign of Raphael in five minutes, then get out of there. Casey's only two buildings away, so he can intervene if you get in over your head. Don't take any risks. We're doing this to get Raph's attention. Keep me updated throughout the fight, understand?" Mikey's agreement came over the com.

"Three.. Five.. Eigh- No, nine, ten goons, they're definitely the Foot. This'll be a breeze." Donatello could not get rid of the nervousness sickening his stomach.

"Just be safe, Mikey."

"Yeah, yeah. I want hot chocolate and warm towels when I get to the lair." Don chuckled, picking up the whirring of Mikey's nunchucks as he approached the Foot.

"Hey, what's up, soldiers of the Foot? Want to play summer school? I'll show you just how to school the naughty kids!" The loud th-whack of his nunchucks sounded over the mic and Don made a face.

"Worst pun ever." He commented to April, who was holding a map and tracing the possible routes they'd drawn with her finger. She grinned at him.

"At least he's having fun now. Nothing like banging heads to make a guy happy." Don shook his head.

"Mikey's not really like that. He's only getting into a fight with the Foot without the rest of us, at night, in the rain of all things, because he wants Raph back. Fighting doesn't necessarily make him happy, not like having us all home would." April's smile dropped. Don patted her on the shoulder.

"Not that he isn't enjoying it right now. Things have been really tense and stressful for all of us. It was his idea, then he argued against it, and when this fight finishes, he'll probably think it's worthy of the Guiness Book of World Records. Mikey's not really angry at anyone right now; he just wants his big brothers back." April smiled quietly.

"You're sure you're not considering a career in the pyschology field?" Don laughed.

"Definitely not. That's Leo's job. I'm just covering for him."

"Well, I'm glad you guys are amused." Mikey turned his mic up, hopping backwards to bring one of his nunchucks down on a masked head at the same time, putting the guy out of commission for a while. "Any sign of Raph, Casey?"

"Nope. All's quiet from where I am." The man replied, turning his mic up as well and pulling his hood farther up on his head.

"Just checking." Mikey kicked outwards and caught a man in the stomach, throwing him away and turning to watch him smash into the brick wall. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm sure you didn't put 'excellent wall-hitter' in your resume. The Shredder has a habit of overlooking those kinds of details." He grinned at his genius and skipped away, ducking the katana of the attacker attempting to sneak up on him from behind.

"Na ah ah, don't think so!" He jammed a well-aimed elbow into the man's ribs and turned to punch him in the face, forgetting about the nunchuck in his hand and watching blood spurt into the mask as the man stumbled backwards with a yell and slipped in the puddle behind him.

".. Oops." He winced.

"Oops? What oops?" Don demanded, feeling his stomach light up with panicky nerves. Mikey rolled his eyes, leaping backwards again to land in a crouch on the edge of the building. April gasped when she saw him there, balancing precariously.

"Guys, calm down!" Mikey ordered, taking a moment to glory in the fact that he was actually being the voice of reason for once. That was a shock. "I hit someone harder than I meant to. No biggie. In fact, this is turning out to be way easier than you worried about, Donnie. Everything's under control!" He grinned.

April shot a look at Don.

"Sure he isn't having a little fun?" The turtle rolled his eyes back at her.

"Now, Mikey, please get off that ledge before I grow another gray hair." April said nervously, gazing at the small shape so far above them.

"You, gray hairs? Never." Even as April stifled a giggle, Mikey flipped off the ledge, kicking the Foot ninja in front of him with a perfect two-leg blow to the chest. Quite proud of how well the fight was turning out, Mikey took a quick look around him and counted. Four more to go and he'd've cleaned up a nice picnic of Foot ninjas. Even if Raph didn't show up, it was nice compensation for having gotten soaking wet.

Don continued to gaze up at where Mikey had disappeared from their view, biting his lip. His gut wasn't giving him the same reassurances as his little brother. April saw his look and tried to ignore it. _Everything'll be okay. Mikey's got incredible skills and speed. Don said it himself, he has the potential to be as good, if not better, than Leo, with the right training. And Leo's the best. He'll be fine._

Mikey gazed at the remaining ninjas, who looked extremely nervous and extended his hands, proclaiming,

"I promise not to be come after you if you run away now. It's only what would be expected for you now, after I so thoroughly kicked the butts of your buddies over there." They shifted, looking at each other, while he waited for one of them to speak up. Finally, the ninja standing to the very left took a step forward and started to say something, but Mikey's nunchuck took care of that problem.

"Sorry!" He said cheerfully, tossing the unconscious body away and turning to face the other three ninjas, all of which were backing away. "Didn't catch that! Did anyone else get what he said? Speak up now." There was a long pause. The three looked at each other, turned around, and took off, running frantically. Mikey chuckled.

"They ran off, the cowards. What next?" He bounced on his toes. "Did you guys see how awesome that was? Not to mention how well my idea's turning out? I get to bust some goon butts and hopefully, find Raph! What could possibly go wrong?" Don glanced ruefully at April and turned down his mic.

"What'd I tell you?" He had never been so relieved.

0101010

Raphael's hands were cramping, they were gripped so tightly around his sais, but he didn't dare put them up or loosen his fingers any, for fear that any change would somehow make Mikey less able to handle the ten Foot around him.

_The hell are they thinking, letting Mikey waltz around and fight ninjas? He could get seriously hurt, pulling crazy stunts like this!_ He gritted his teeth, watched with baited breath as Mikey threw off a handsome two-legged kick to one ninja's chest and had to smile despite himself at the immediate pride on his little brother's face as he bounced away. But he was still incredibly pissed off. Why in the world would Don let Mikey go wandering around to get into fights by himself? He couldn't believe that their genius brother was that careless.

But it was hard to think of ulterior motives when Mikey was having so many close shaves. A katana just missed his ear and Raph's heart nearly stopped. He was moving forward, out of his shadow, but Mikey's nunchuck sent the blade flying and his fist knocked the man backwards.

"Wow, Mike.." Raph breathed, astonished. "Puttin' a little extra power behind those punches, aren't you?" The last three ninjas fled and Raph let them go, watching to see what Mikey would do next. Confused, he watched the turtle's mouth move as if he were talking to himself and then the turtle took off, shoving his weapons in his belt and heading off. Frowning, the red-banded turtle headed after him.

_What's going on?_

Only a few blocks later, Mikey found a group of Purple Dragons and leapt into the fray in the park, sending them flying and using the cover of shadow wisely, startling Raph by the amount of thought he put into the fight. It was as if he was actually concentrating on the battle, fixating on the enemy. Mikey never did that. He was usually too busy laughing, playing around, and making fun of some hapless being. Raphael continued to watch him, struggling with himself. He really wanted to go out there, rid the two of them of the remaining gangsters, and then give Mikey a piece of his mind.

But he knew better. If he showed his face, his little brother wouldn't let go. He'd wrap both arms around his older brother's foot and remain there for days, just like he had when they'd been little, until Raphael conceded. But he couldn't risk that. If he showed his face, Mikey would either tail him or go back to the lair and get Don and Splinter and the rest of the crew to hunt him down. And that would mean giving in. He gritted his teeth and made himself stay in hiding, watching his brother with a careful eye, marking the fool who managed to break Mikey's skin for later. He'd corner him in a dark alley later, and make sure he wasn't able to cut anyone for a long time.

When Mikey moved on, looking surprisingly disappointed, Raph followed, moving with care, making sure that Mikey didn't know he was being followed. He'd make sure that Mikey got home safe. _Home._ Raphael was quickly distracted from the longing thought by the fact that one of the Purple Dragons was getting just a little too trigger-happy for his liking. Mikey, however, put his fears to rest, though he didn't relax until his brother had destroyed the threat and had moved on.

They continued on through the city, until Mikey ran into a squad of the Foot, who had obviously heard about his mission to destroy every threat in his path, and fought as an organized group, making them more dangerous than the other groups he'd fought. Raph felt a line of sweat run down his brow as Mikey barely dodged a stab, one that would've killed him almost instantly and wished upon every wish he'd ever made that he could just go out there.

It didn't take very long for the proper motivation to hit him, when Mikey dodged another swipe with that katana and backed right into a sweeping upward cut that hit him the ribs. Raph heard himself scream Mikey's name as the turtle landed on his knees, an expression of startlement moving over his face before it disappeared and he collapsed.

"No!" He was leaping toward the scene before he even realized it. The scene repeated itself over and over again in his head. Sword sliding into Mikey's skin, blood going everywhere, his little brother collapsing- This couldn't be happening. _Damnit!_

"Mikey!"


	5. Laughing Sisters, Crying Brothers

**~!~ Okay. This chapter was a butt-load of trouble for me. I took awhile because I wrote it almost immediately and hated it. I could not get it the way I wanted it, the way I had pictured it. I actually rewrote it at least twice, taking out and adding in a bunch of parts, as I'd originally planned to skip the van scene and just have them get to the lair and Don start on the surgery, but I decided that I wanted Don and Raph to have a scene. My biggest problem with that was that I'd wanted it to be from Raph's point of view, but Donatello just seemed to keep coming back in where I didn't want him. He really does have a big part in this story, despite not being incredibly wounded, angry, or on a life-changing journey. He's the one who had to be responsible and think things through, but it went wrong. I might end up giving him a complex over this, later on. Poor Don. Now he knows how Leo feels. =P Anyways, my apologies for making you wait! I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: This is not mine. Unfortunately.**

**Question: If you're tired of hearing Don's side of the story, tell me. I really like his sarcasm and exasperated wit, especially since he's so strained and stressed right now, but the next chapter's up for grabs, as far as point of view is concerned. Who do you think I should write through: Leonardo or Raphael? Cookies for everyone who answers! **

**Update 8/5/10: This chapter is officially under revision and has been revised. Those who gave constructive criticism, I will tell you now that I live for people like you. Lots of thanks, as I'm now figuring out where I can change this chapter and improve it. It's still giving me problems, but you can check back in and hopefully, this will be much improved. I will let everyone know when I've finished making revisions. Thanks ever so!~!~**

Chapter Five

"Mikey!" Don felt his suddenly nerveless fingers drop the bagel he'd been biting into as he struggled to leap out of the car, slamming into the car door with enough force to stun himself for a second as April cried out, eyes wide with horror as she gazed at the scene in front of them in the normally quiet park.

"What is wrong with this freakin' door?" Remembering that he'd put on the lock for safety, Don frantically pressed the unlock button, just as April reached across and grabbed his arm.

"Don, Don, look!" He paused just long enough in his desperate attempt to exit the vehicle and get to his brother's side in order to look up, and realized with a start that he wasn't the only one with that idea in mind. A familiar green shape struck out furiously, and Don could hear his enraged battle cry from inside the van. His jaw dropped open.

"Raph.." The muscular red-banded turtle was in full battle-mode. He was moving as fast as Don had ever seen him move. Blood was flying everywhere and the purple-banded turtle's jaw dropped even further as his older brother actually used one of his sai to stab one of the gangsters. April's startled gasp made him jump.

"I.. I didn't know that they could be used for that." She murmured, a pale hand over her mouth.

"I don't really think they're designed for stabbing. The sai is supposed to be a defensive weapon and that's why Master Splinter chose it for him, at least, that's what I think. I don't think I've ever seen him actually stab with one of those things.." He babbled, fear making his stomach squeeze unpleasantly and Don swallowed, his eyes moving beyond Raphael to the still and bleeding shape lying on the ground.

"Oh, man, Mikey.." He swung the door open and ran toward the scene, yanking his bo staff from its position on his back and cracking it down on the first head that popped into view. He could see Raphael moving in a green blur just a few feet away and when two gangsters tried to tag-team him, one went down with a splurt of blood. Don winced, mercifully knocking the other one out. He didn't reprimand the other turtle, however, as the number of opposing forces dwindled and the men started to flee, screaming something about "freaky green aliens". Normally, he'd be worried about the repercussions of them coming out, but it was four in the morning and no one was around.

Also, his little brother was lying on the ground, bleeding out.

"Mikey!" Don turned around and saw Raph bull right over an unfortunate woman and land at Mikey's side, falling on his knees, hands moving uncertainly over the bloody shape. "Don! Get the hell over here now!" Don yanked out his shell cell, ordering April to grab his bag and come to them, and to call Casey too.

Raphael turned and stared at him.

"Why the hell're Casey, April, and you all here but he was fightin' alone?" There was dark anger in his eyes and Don saw fear there too. The purple-banded turtle knew their secret plan to get him to the lair was no longer important. Mikey's life was in danger. There was very little that he cared about now besides his sibling's safety.

"We-"

"Unngghh.. Guh- Raphh." The broken turtle lying at Raph's feet groaned, twisting a little. Don's heart twisted in his chest and he snatched the bag as it dropped from April's hands, that went up to cover her mouth in shock. Raphael gestured frantically for Don to come and the purple-banded turtle did, hating himself for this. _I let him do this, I let him do this, I let him get himself hurt; what kind of brother am I?_

Don knelt on the other side of Mikey, tugging him gently to see all of the damage. The sound of gentle sobbing came from their left as April hugged herself, obviously struggling with the sight of Mikey lying, bleeding away on the ground. There was a large gash stretching across Mikey's side, where blood flowed freely. Don glimpsed white bone and felt sick. Raphael was saying words Don knew he'd get banished to his room if Splinter ever heard him talk like that in his hearing.

"Shit, Mikey, I'm so sorry, I should've been there. You shouldn't have been doing this vigilante stuff alone, dammit!"

"You shouldn't have either." Don made himself point out as he unwrapped a bandage. Raph glared at him.

"I'm not Mikey, I'm not three kinds of idiot, and I know how to handle myself!"

"Mikey's not an idiot, Raph, he just gets a little excited-"

"And that's where someone shoulda stepped in! He needs us to keep him from getting stabbed to death!"

"Which would've been a great solution, had you been there."

"Shut up!" Raphael snarled. "You were there too!"

Don looked away. The older turtle took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and punched the ground. The sound of a cracking bone echoed and Raph gazed at the droplets of blood that squirted from his broken skin like he'd never seen such a thing before.

"Geez, Raph." Don reacted, tossing a roll of bandages at him and blinking when his brother didn't make an attempt to catch them. "Quick, wrap that up before the break can move around more." A long pause.

"You can't help me get him into the van if your hand's broken." He wrapped it up tight. Don got back to work.

"Help me lift him up. I need to wrap this around him. The more we have to block the bleeding, the better."

Raph gently wrapped his arms around Mikey and lifted, ignoring the burn in his hand. His brother's pain was as clear as words on a book's page when Mikey's breath whooshed out and a grating cry escaped. Don winced, hurriedly wrapping the bandage around and gesturing for Raphael to set him down.

He wadded up another wrap of bandages and pressed it to the wound, trying to cover as much of the gaping wound as possible and catch as much of the blood as possible.

"April, get the van over here." He ordered. "Raph, can you lift him and put him in the van? I need to keep my hands on this wound as much as possible." He nodded silently, staring bleakly at his little brother. There was a long moment of quiet, with Don focusing solely on keeping a heavy hold on the wound that continued to bleed. It soaked the first wad of bandages and he ordered Raph to rip up another batch and then held it over the saturated cloth. The feeling of his little brother's blood slicking over his hands and arms made his stomach squeeze unpleasantly and he ignored the sensation, hating the feeling of helplessness. Looking up, he could tell that while he felt helpless, his older brother was pissed.

"Blaming this on one person won't help anything." Don said quietly, using his elbow to hold the bandage while he checked some bruising on Mikey's shoulder. Part of him wanted to blame his older brother for this. If he'd been there for Mikey, then they wouldn't have had to send him out. But if he was looking for someone to blame, then he could just as easily blame himself for agreeing to the idea or Mikey himself for coming up with it. "Blaming yourself won't help Mikey."

"Don." The tone of Raph's voice made Donatello look up in surprise, their eyes meeting over Michelangelo's body. "If he dies.." The broken, angry sound in the confident turtle cracked in Don's heart.

"I'm going to put those gangsters out of business."

"Right there with you, Raph. But I'm not going to let him die."

Raphael's muscles flexed tautly as he lifted, gritting his teeth and wishing Mikey was a little heavier. He felt so freakin' light, it was scaring him. He wanted to ask Don if everything was okay, but he knew the answer to that. He wanted to demand if Mikey was supposed to be this light and if he was going to have to donate blood or something, and where the hell Casey was, and why April had the van ready and- _Damnit, shut up! _He mentally slapped the noisily worried voice in his head.

_I need to focus on Mike. If it wasn't for me leaving like that, he'd be okay._ He laid his brother where Don gestured, on the floor and between the two back seats. Don crouched over him, order April to hit the gas and get them to the lair. A few seconds later, a large shape moved into the passenger seat and Raphael dimly recognized the shape as Casey.

The blistering expletives that left his mouth went right through one ear and out the other, as Raphael knelt next to Mikey, putting his hands where Don told him to and listening to his brother as Don muttered under his breath, talking about where he was going to have to put Mikey and that he'd seen stuff in the wound and he'd need to clean it. He'd also need more bandages; he hadn't been prepared; and Raph tuned him out.

He gazed at Mikey's face, seeing the pain in his little bro's face and hating himself fiercely. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _If he'd known that Mikey would risk himself like that, he would have never left him alone.

_Both of your older brothers left you._ He thought painfully, touching Mikey's forehead with two gentle fingers. _No wonder you were acting so reckless. Reckless is what I do. Doesn't really work for you._ Then again, that was Mikey. Doing everything with eager and undeterred abandon. Raphael shut his eyes.

"I'm never going to leave you alone like that again, promise. Not if you're going to be so stupid." He restrained from smacking his annoying little brother up side the head like he always did and instead, looked at Don, who eventually realized and glanced up, meeting his eyes. Raph's eyes narrowed.

"Do you think he did this on purpose?" Donatello looked at him and then away. Raphael stared at his brother. "What? Did he?" Don sighed.

"Yeah.. And he told me about it."

"..."

"...?"

"THE HELL'S WRONG W'YOU?" His roar was so loud that April jerked the wheel hard enough to nearly send them careening into a homeless man and his grocery cart. Casey yelled something unintelligible, while Don gripped Mikey's body to keep him from sliding and glared at his enraged older brother, the peace shattered.

"Look, we didn't think anything was going to happen. We found out the route you took every night and followed it, hoping we'd run into you. April, Casey, and I would be on point while Mikey fought because we were pretty sure that you'd come to his rescue if he needed it. And we were right, you did."

"Yeah, I did!" Raphael was so mad, his words starting sliding together as he vented. "I came, when I saw a sword slice 'im up! Why weren't you there too? I'd've come if-"

"Raph, stop." Don was tired; tired of playing footsie with everyone. Who was to blame, whose fault it was. All of them had some part in this. If Leo hadn't left. If Raph hadn't left. If Mikey hadn't come up with the idea. If Don hadn't let him do it. "This could be blamed on all of us. Don't just put it on me! He wasn't supposed to get hurt, you know that wouldn't be a part of the plan. I'm just as horrified as you are!"

A long pause. If looks could kill, Don didn't want to imagine what his fate was.

"I doubt it. I leave and suddenly, you're out to put Mikey in the ground!"

"What? You think I let him do it on purpose? Have you lost your mind?"

"I dont know." Raph snapped. "You're the genius. You figure out why you thought this up and let him do this by himself!"

"It wasn't my idea! Mikey thought that if he could fake being hurt, then you'd come running." The startled Raph into stopping for a moment.

"He wanted to lie to me? His own brother?"

"That was the part that everyone had trouble with, but he was desperate. We were desperate." _That's not good enough_, Raphael thought angrily.

"Great. So he wanted to lie to me and you were going to let him."

"Well, talking to you hadn't helped and we were out of options." Don gritted his teeth. "Get me another roll of bandages, please." Raphael jerked around, snatching up a roll of bandages and passing it over with an obvious effort not to throw it.

And, when Michelangelo groaned and twisted upward so suddenly that both brothers watching over him jerked in surprise, Raph moving backwards as he struggled with his eminent desire to punch something and his concern for Mikey.

"What's- wha- what's going on?" His little bro's voice was so pitiful, so weak and strained that Raphael was fighting the instinct to pummel a lot of somethings. Don put an unsteady hand on his brother's forehead, trying to calm the panicking orange-banded turtle.

"Nothing, nothing, we're taking you to the lair now, so I can treat you. I'll take care of that wound and you'll be as good as new in a few weeks, all right? You need to stop moving. Losing more blood won't be good for recovery." _Recovery? Yeah, right. If he doesn't stop losing blood, then recovery's going to be the last thing on our minds_.

Mikey didn't stop moving though and made a visible effort, grabbing onto Don's arm and squeezing hard enough to turn the green skin pale. He held on forcibly, looking up into Donatello's eyes and demanding,

"Raph. Where is he? I really thought I he-heard h-him." His brother moved to his side, grabbing onto his shoulders and Don thought he saw tears in his older brother's eyes.

"Mikey, I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you, I promise." Michelangelo blinked a few times and then murmured,

"Pinky promise?"

"Yeah, yeah, you just gotta promise to stay with me too, all right? Don't go, Mikey, stay with me!" His voice got panicky as Mikey went lax in his arms and he looked frantically at Don.

"Donnie, what's going on? Is he okay? He isn't dead, is he?" The medically-efficient turtle was already checking his baby brother's pulse and nodded, visibly relieved.

"He fell back into unconsciousness, heart rate's fine." As Raphael's eyes tracked back to his little brother, Don added, "But we really need to get him to the lair. I need to sew that wound up as soon as possible and ensure that the wound won't leak anymore."

"Can't you just do that now?" Raph demanded.

"Yeah, if you want me to stab him all over the place with a needle." His sarcasm was misplaced, as the other turtle stared at him, either missing the point or wanting a straightforward explanation.

"I can't operate on him in a moving van, Raph." His older brother ignored the exasperation in his voice for once, focusing on Mikey.

The van made a sharp turn and came screeching to a halt in front of the old building where their much-used entrance and exit to the lair ended.

"Casey, I want you to call Master Splinter now. April, help me grab my bag of supplies, we may need some of this when I fix him up, especially that box right there, yeah, that one. It has a bunch of bandages in it and I'll need those when I stitch Mikey up." She nodded and scrambled past them, while Don backed out on his knees and landed lightly.

"All right, Raph, ease him out carefully." As the turtle's arms went under Mikey's legs and head, his broken hand burning fiercely, as if someone had set fire to it, Casey said,

"Couldn't I help carry him?" Don shook his head tersely.

"No, with two people counterbalancing against each other, it'd just create more jostling for his wound. And I'll treat Raph's hand soon, it's not the worst break he's had." The red-banded turtle ignored them as he stepped out.

They got into the elevator and went down, Don taking the soaked bandages, tossing them aside, and replacing them with new ones, always keeping pressure on the wound. The blood flow had slowed down now, but Don was worried. _Mikey lost a lot of blood. And he isn't responsive. That's not good._ Casey shut his phone, saying quietly, for once,

"Splinter said he'd be waiting on us when we get there." Don nodded, staring at Mikey and checking his pulse every few seconds, knowing he was getting a little twitchy and not really caring. They were so close. So close to making this all right again. _Just a little further. A little bit further._

_Ding._

Splinter was there the moment the doors opened. His eyes went wide at the bloody body that was his son.

"He's-"

"Alive, yes." Don replied, feeling a semblance of normalcy settle in, finally. "But I need to get him to a flat surface so I can sew up his wound." Master Splinter nodded, concern wrinkling his brow as he put a paw on his son's forehead before turning and pointing out a table covered in candles, that Casey and April hurried to clear. Raph was walking that way, when they heard, almost impossibly over the sounds they were making, footsteps echoing.

"Hey, guys, I'm home!"

Leonardo walked in, katanas and all, and saw them. His eyes went from April and Casey hurriedly clearing the table, to Don's gaping face, to Raph as he held Mikey's limp form.

"What? Michelangelo?"


	6. Loving Hearts, Hating Tongues

**~!~ Okay, my computer has been without Internet for days, so I've gotten a lot done as far as writing goes, but I haven't been able to get any of it on FF. This's a bit rushed, because I was desperate to get more of this particular story up before y'all start hating me. =P Hope you like it, of course! Cookies for everyone who reviews! I also kinda bounced around as far as POV is concerned, because I couldn't make up my mind. ~!~**

Chapter One

"What? Michelangelo?" Horror washed over him as he stared at the scene unfolding in his home. Casey and April were attacking one of Master Splinter's meditation tables and had frozen, as if he'd hit pause with a remote, and stared at him like deer caught in headlights. It made him wonder what all had happened while they were gone, because they looked ready to flee from some major crossfire.

Donatello was lowering his bo staff and Leo knew that he he'd probably been about to use it, in case of attack, but that was strange, considering that Donnie wasn't violent. His eyes went from that spectacle to Raphael, his eldest younger sibling, holding Mikey, his youngest. Leonardo's heart shattered. He raced forward, dodging Casey and sliding to a halt where he grabbed Mikey's arm frantically, searching for a pulse.

"He isn't dead." Don reassured, his voice turning Leo's head to stare at him in open-mouthed shock. "He got stabbed on a night's run by some gangsters. He isn't dead, but he's lost a lot of blood." His voice was so professional that it took Leonardo completely by surprise when Donatello promptly threw his arms around him in a rough embrace. Raphael's eyes narrowed slightly and the blue-banded turtle was taken aback by this as he patted his brother's head and hugged him back.

"You can do this, Donnie." He said, knowing his younger brother was looking for reassurance. "Just tell the rest of us what you need and we'll help." Donatello pulled away and said,

"Raph, put him on that table, please." April and Casey moved away from the red-banded turtle like he'd explode at any moment and Leonardo noticed this, but remembered that Mikey was the main problem right now. They needed him to be all right first. Then he could deal with Raphael. The thought made his stomach squeeze unhappily but he moved toward Mikey, hovering along with April and Master Splinter, while Raph watched in the background and Casey muttered something about a case of beer. Leo made a mental note to make sure Casey didn't give any to Raphael.

"Okay, I'm going to stitch this wound up. I need April to wipe away the blood every so often so that I can see what I'm doing. Also, once I'm finished, I'm going to need a blood donor." Raphael looked up from where he was leaning against the wall, out of the way.

"I can donate." Don nodded.

"That's great, thanks." He looked around. Leonardo stood over Mikey's midsection, gazing down at the wound with a dark look on his face, one that matched Raph's. It reminded Donnie of the time that Leonardo became, as Mikey liked to put it, Raphael's dark and evil twin. In fact, the looks on their faces were very similar. He swallowed and looked at Master Splinter, a more comforting presence, even though there was sorrow in his father's face.

"Um, guys, I'm going to need you to.. uh, step back. Go do something else. I don't need any distractions." There were no disagreements.

"Right. I'll go make sure Casey isn't destroying the refrigerator." Leonardo said, stepping away and giving Donatello his working space. Master Splinter nodded.

"An excellent idea, my son." Leo felt the beginnings of a smile and bowed to his master and father before moving away from the table. "Raph? You… coming?" The other turtle shook his head.

"I'll watch, in case something goes wrong." Don looked up from where he was gathering his things.

"Raph, that's not necessary. The more people breathing in a single space, the dirtier the air is. And you're making me nervous, standing there." Raphael didn't look as though he had a problem with that last comment, but Leo insisted.

"Come on. Donnie said no distractions."

"And he also said Mikey'd be safe." Raph sent a dark look at Donatello, who flinched. Leo didn't know what was going on, but he intervened swiftly.

"Raphael, none of us can help Michelangelo like Don can right now. So you need to give him his space so he can work as well as possible under these circumstances. Come on." Raphael got off the wall reluctantly, not looking at his younger brother as he stalked past.

"I'll talk to him." Leonardo mouthed to Don as he followed his brother out. Don nodded, and got to work, sinking into his work and feeling as if a burden was lifting from his shoulders. If he could heal Mikey, maybe he could help repair all the damage he'd caused.

Leonardo trotted into the kitchen, took the beer away from Casey and gestured for Raphael to come with him into his room. When he walked in, he breathed in and realized that there wasn't a bit of dust that had gathered during his time away. Looking around, he saw the broom that Mikey always used when he was given chores and smiled, his heart warming. Raphael didn't take that the right way.

"Why're you smiling? Mikey's lying in there and you weren't here to do anything about it!" Raphael didn't stand still. He paced around the room, clenching his fists, jaw muscles flexing in rapid movements that made Leonardo slightly concerned for his brother's teeth.

"Raph. You cannot blame just one person for what happened to Mikey. After all, you weren't there either-" Wrong thing to say.

"At least I was in the damn city!" And he swung at Leonardo, coming at him in a furious rush, all of his anger swelling around him, practically visible in his eyes.

Leo dodged, biting his lip. _Is this the way to clear the anger and guilt from his sight? I'd much rather talk things over, but he's so angry.. Maybe it's best that he exhaust himself by fighting. I'm pretty sure I can keep ahead of him and make sure he doesn't hurt me or himself._ Raphael promptly feinted and lunged again. With a quick twist and hand movement, Leonardo relieved his brother of the sai on his belt and tossed them away, tugging off his swords as well and throwing them as well.

"If this makes things better, then come at me." He said, keeping his eyes trained on his brother.

"Better? You left us, what are we to you? Family doesn't abandon family!" Raphael feinted and performed a rough but fast left side-kick that Leo was forced to duck under. He grabbed the fist that swung at his face in one hand and blocked the knee with his elbow, making Raphael grunt in discomfort at the bone digging into his kneecap. Leonardo turned, sliding his elbow around and pushing hard against the back of his knee, forcing the leg to give. He rolled to the side, avoiding the falling turtle and pushed upright to his feet quickly, startled to find his brother on his feet nearly as quickly as he.

There was a soft grunt as Raph's fist hit Leo's arm that he brought up to block his face and Leonardo went to sweep his feet out from under him, only to have Raph leap up and over, landing hard with his hands on Leo's shoulders in a move that he would have expected out of Mikey. Leonardo's legs nearly gave but he forced himself to fall forward and roll away, unharmed while Raphael crashed onto the floor.

Downstairs, Casey looked upward to the sounds coming from the room and muttered worriedly,

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Master Splinter gazed in that direction as well, sadness piercing his wise eyes.

"This is Leonardo's choice. As his brother, he knows that it is best for Raphael to rid himself of his anger before Raphael makes an unwise decision. But, as leader, he knows it is also best to be diplomatic at all times. This is not diplomatic. This is two brothers fighting." Casey looked sideways at the old rat.

"So you don't approve, huh, Master Splinter?" The rat met his gaze.

"Of my sons fighting? No. Would you?"

Raphael could feel dark anger pressing in on him and the feeling made his vision cloud with red and he could no longer feel the sweat that beaded along his skin that told him he wasn't in shape anymore and that he'd need to slow down soon. The red-banded turtle had so many emotions exploding in his head, pictures that continued to come back and haunt him.

The look on Mikey's face, a simple confused and slightly worried look that betrayed the violently-squirting blood, Don's eyes that gave away his despair when Raphael snapped at him, and his own feelings, how betrayed he'd felt when Leonardo had left and everything that had happened since. Everything was going wrong and he couldn't do anything right. Mikey was down, Leo had left, and Don was guilty, nothing was going right.

He swung viciously with a clenched fist and Leo stepped backwards. The light way he did it, bouncing easily on his toes and keeping his balance with ease reminded Raphael of Michelangelo. His teeth gritted and a guttural sound came out of his throat.

"Dammit!" He leapt forward this time, taking Leo by surprise by his sudden full frontal attack. The two collided, Raphael knocking his older brother into the floorboards. He immediately found two pairs of knees slamming into his back and the two promptly changed positions as Leo tossed him over his head and was on top of him instead.

"Is this my fault now, huh? Are you blaming me for this?" Raphael glared at him and struggled to rip his arms away from Leo's hands, but his brother had the better grip. He didn't want to think about this, he needed to let some of the anger go!

"Yes! If you hadn't up and left us again, for some stupid quest thing, _again_, maybe Mikey wouldn't have gone off on that stupid mission! You ever think of that, huh?"

"Maybe I left knowing that I was leaving Mikey in capable hands!" Leonardo came back, struggling to keep Raphael's heaving body from throwing him off. The words had an obvious affect on Raphael, who came to a sudden halt. Leo didn't relax, however, and kept his tight grip on his brother.

"Listen, Raph. Anger isn't going to help anybody right now. That just makes for more problems, and we do not need any more of those. Michelangelo needs his brothers to be united, right? He's never been very good when two of us are fighting." Raphael closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Just get off!"

Leo complied and offered a hand to pull his brother up.

"I'm sorry." He said. The words made Raph look up, eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry that I left you guys. I should've known better and as your leader and brother, I'm sorry. Next time, I will be wiser and make the better decision."

Raphael looked away. Apologies made things hard. There was a part of him that just wanted to keep fighting. The violence made things simple. Punch, swing, and make the opponent feel the pain he was feeling, because that was only fair. But Leonardo wasn't just any opponent; he was as good a fighter as Raphael and he was his brother.

_I don't really want him to suffer. I don't to cause him pain. That's my anger talking._

"You know what?" He said, "You're right." Raphael punched his brother. It was a glancing blow and wouldn't leave much of a bruise, but it caught Leo off guard and his mouth fell open in shock as his head snapped around.

"You made a mistake." Raphael gritted, chest still heaving from their fight. "But you weren't the only one who left Mikey all by himself. So I can't blame you." They all had hands in this; it wasn't fair to point fingers. That didn't change the fact that he felt despicable for it.

Leonardo studied him with guarded eyes, one hand on his cheek, guard down.

"We're all responsible in some way." His older brother, pointed out, always reasonable. "You know that Donnie wouldn't ever let Mikey do something reckless without thinking it over first. He must've had some sort of safety. It was a freak accident."

Raph snorted.

"Donnie's a genius. He should've seen this coming!"

Leonardo tipped his head up and looked at the ceiling.

"Donatello's got an IQ of over 200. He's a scientist, a doctor, an engineer, the smartest of all of us. But he said once, that Michelangelo's like an unknown variable. He's like the '_x' _in an algebra equation, the letter that stands for something and no one can really predict what he's thinking, what he'll do next. He's unpredictable. Trouble follows him wherever he goes. He's gotten hurt with all of us surrounding him, in fights with everything from Klunk to the Foot. Mikey's gotten scars just from playing around in the kitchen. He's never the same, he's not proven, he's not predictable and you know that. Donnie couldn't have predicted that Mikey would fly off the handle. He tried to keep everything else safe, so that Mikey wouldn't get hurt, but you can't make things perfect. Don's a perfectionist and he tried. It isn't his fault that he didn't succeed, because no one's perfect."

Leonardo took a breath.

"And the whole plan was Mikey's idea." Raph looked up, mouth falling open.

"His idea? He wanted to get himself hurt so I'd come to the rescue?"

"I don't think he wanted to actually get hurt. He figured you'd come running the moment he was in danger."

Raphael remembered the exact moment when that sword had pierced his baby brother's side, his intake of breath, the swearwords echoing in his head, the gravel that stung the heel of his foot as he'd taken off to reach Mikey. He was going to experience each of those things ever y time he had a nightmare now.

"He thought right." The red-banded turtle muttered.

"Donatello was probably counting on that too. Between Casey, April, you, and him, he thought Mikey'd be safe."

Raphael nodded, rubbing his head.

_I'll be apologizing twice. Geez._

"But since we have an unknown variable for a brother," Leo's voice sounded like he was trying not to smile, "Four guards must have not been enough."

Raphael leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, staring resolutely at Leo, who blinked at him, noticing the change in his younger brother's demeanor.

"Then it should be six." Raph said firmly. Leonardo tilted his head curiously.

"We'll swear. Swear that we won't leave him again. Not without someone else to watch over him, we won't."

Raphael knew that this promise wasn't actually going to be made to Michelangelo. He wanted Leonardo to promise to him that there wasn't going to be any more abandonment.

"We're a family. We need to stay like that." He said, swallowing uncomfortably at the emotional sense of the words he was saying. It was rare that he addressed subjects like this. Leonardo surprised him by smiling.

"I haven't forgotten. Couldn't, wouldn't, not ever." Raphael nodded, feeling better than he had in a long time.

_That's my brother. Irritating, but he's my brother. _


End file.
